


A Day of Firsts

by softsadcancer



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Childhood, KageHina Week, KageHina Week 2020, Volleyball, also shouyou's dad is in this AU woo!!!, idk what else to put here lel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24736933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softsadcancer/pseuds/softsadcancer
Summary: “So what position do you like to play?” Youta asked, a hand on Shouyou’s shoulder.“Setter,” Tobio replied, without hesitation. “I’m going to be the best setter in Japan.”“That’s my Tobio,” Kazuyo said proudly, ruffling Tobio’s hair.“Wow, that’s amazing!” Youta replied, nodding. “Did you hear that, Shou? He wants to be a setter!”“What position do you want to play, Shouyou-kun?” Kazuyo asked, a smiled on his face.“Spiker!” Shouyou cried with excitement. “I’m going to be the best spiker in Japan!” He jumped up and down, spiking the air in front of him.~An alternate universe where aspiring volleyball players Hinata and Kageyama meet at their first volleyball session at the Little Falcons club.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 8
Kudos: 137
Collections: Kagehina Week 2020





	A Day of Firsts

Tobio held on tightly to his grandfather’s hand as he walked into the large gymnasium. The ceilings stood high and faraway, making Tobio feel smaller than he really was. The sound of the volleyballs smacking against the walls and hitting the floor echoed throughout the hall, and Tobio could feel a shiver of excitement down his spine. Tobio’s grandfather, Kazuyo, picked up on his emotions and laughed. “You’re shaking, you okay? Feeling nervous?”

“I just want to touch the ball,” Tobio said, his eyes shining as he watched kids much older than him set and spike the ball. It was true, he was shaking but it wasn’t the nerves that got to him; it was the excitement. He marvelled at the kids practicing around him. Some were still starting out, still practicing how to receive, while others seemed to be leagues above everyone else, practicing sets with each other. Even the smell of fresh volleyballs and that icy hot spray for injuries wafted around the hall, entering Tobio’s nostrils as he inhaled deeply, taking in everything around him. The sights, the sounds, the smells; it all excited him. Kazuyo watched as his grandson’s eyes shine, amazed at everything around him. It wasn’t his first time to a Little Falcon’s practice session, but ever since he showed an interest in volleyball, Kazuyo decided to enrol Tobio in Little Falcon’s to develop and hone his volleyball skills. So it was his very first volleyball session.

“And you will, plenty of times!” Kazuyo smiled, giving Tobio’s hand a little squeeze. He remembered when Miya first started out volleyball, the excitement in her eyes as she stared with her mouth hanging open as the ladies spiked the volleyballs. And to see the exact same reaction with Tobio, Kazuyo truly felt lucky that he was able to ignite this sort of excitement and passion in his grandchildren. Who knew they’d take after him?

“How about we get you registered, yeah?” Kazuyo said, pulling Kageyama along to where the head coach stood. Reluctantly, Tobio allowed himself to be pulled away as they made their way to get his attendance for today’s session.

“Kazuyo!” The head coach beamed, clipboard in hand. “I see you’ve got your other grandkid into the sport,” he teased, nodding at Tobio. “You’re still early. We’re waiting on more kids to show up and then we’ll start.”

“Really?” Kazuyo looked around, as did Tobio. There seemed to be quite a lot of kids already. How many more was he waiting for? “Looks like you’ve got a full class!”

“That’s the advanced class. We’re still waiting for the rest of the beginners and intermediates,” the head coach smiled. He looked through his clipboard, checking Tobio’s name off the list. “So how’s Miwa?”

“She’s great!” Kazuyo smiled widely as he started talking about Miwa’s volleyball progress in the all-girls club she’s in. Tobio looked up and watched as the adults exchanged words with one another, fitting in a few laughs and shoulder taps. Tobio wriggled himself out of his grandfather’s grip and walked around the hall, stopping every so often to watch the students practice, be it setting, spiking, serving, receiving, or diving. His eyes shone once more, excitement racing through his body. He heard the soft _thwack_ of a ball against a wall and turned to see a young boy with bright orange hair, spiking the ball against the wall while his father stood and watched.

“See? You got it!” The father kneeled beside his son, taking his small arm and making a swinging motion with it. “See, you’ve got to swing your arm like this, follow through with your spike, just like you did, but with full power. You want to hear but also _feel_ the thwack of your hand against the ball.”

The young boy’s eyes, much like Tobio’s, shone as well as his small smile grew wider and he nodded in excitement, taking the ball from his father and trying once again. He threw the ball up and swung his arm, his hand missing the ball as his fingertips brushed the ball. “Argh!” The young boy groaned in frustration, his smile replaced with a frown as his brows knitted together in frustration.

His father laughed and ruffled his soft fluffy hair. “Don’t worry, Shou, you’ve just got to practice, and before you know it, you’ll be a pro.”

The young boy’s face lit up once more as he nodded enthusiastically. Tobio watched their exchange quietly, not realizing his hand was atop his own head. He ran his fingers through his hair, and felt something in his chest as he wondered when was the last time his father had ruffled his hair and fed him words of encouragement. He tried to remember when was the last time he even _saw_ his father, but that memory seemed almost faded in the back of his mind. He slowly ruffled his own hair as he continued to watch the interaction between this father and son, as the father lovingly taught his son volleyball.

“Tobio!”

Tobio quickly retracted his hand from his hair and turned to face his grandfather. He walked over to Tobio, smiled on his face. “What are you– oh, Youta!”

The father that Tobio had been looking at earlier turned to the sound of his name. When he realized the owner of the voice who called him, he smiled and stood up. “Kazuyo! How are you?”

Kazuyo stood behind Tobio, hands on his shoulder. “I’m good! Just checking this one into his first session today! What about you? How’s your family? I heard you welcomed a new family member!”

Youta laughed. “Yes, we did! A girl, so you can imagine how happy my wife is!” His son stopped spiking against the wall as he held his ball tightly in his hands, staring straight at Tobio. “Ah, sorry! This is my boy, Shouyou. Say hi, Shouyou.”

Shouyou bowed down and smiled. “Hi!”

Tobio noticed he was missing a few front teeth, wondering if he lost them to a ball in the face, but then realized he was probably losing his baby teeth.

“Hi Shouyou-kun!” Kazuyo bent down and reached out a hand to Shouyou, who readily took it and shook it, his smile growing wider. Kazuyo turned to Tobio, put an arm around him and pulled him closer. “This is Tobio. Say hi, Tobio.”

Tobio bowed. “Hi.”

“So what position do you like to play?” Youta asked, a hand on Shouyou’s shoulder.

“Setter,” Tobio replied, without hesitation. “I’m going to be the best setter in Japan.”

“That’s my Tobio,” Kazuyo said proudly, ruffling Tobio’s hair.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Youta replied, nodding. “Did you hear that, Shou? He wants to be a setter!”

“What position do you want to play, Shouyou-kun?” Kazuyo asked, a smiled on his face.

“Spiker!” Shouyou cried with excitement. “I’m going to be the best spiker in Japan!” He jumped up and down, spiking the air in front of him.

“Well, look at you!” Kazuyo laughed as Youta ruffled Shouyou’s hair once more. “With your determination and some practice, I think you can be!”

“You think so?” Shouyou’s eyes shone brightly. Tobio watched as his grandfather nodded, spewing words of encouragement and wisdom. Tobio watched as the orange-haired boy in front of him stared at his grandfather in awe, his smile reaching up to his ears. Is this what he looked like when his grandfather encouraged him too?

“Anyways, I think we should get going,” Youta said as he nodded in the direction of the head coach. Tobio and Kazuyo turned to see him calling all his students to him. Youta bent down and gave Shouyou a hug. “I’ll be back to pick you up, okay?”

Shouyou nodded. “Okay!”

Tobio watched as Shouyou laughed when his father gave him a kiss on the cheek. Kazuyo shook his head, bent down and gave Tobio a hug. He knew Tobio missed his parents, but what could he do about busy parents?

“Best setter in all of Japan, right?” Kazuyo said, raising his fist.

“Yeah!” Tobio beamed, bumping his fist with Kazuyo.

Both adults waved as they walked out together. Tobio and Shouyou walked to the group of kids in front of the head coach as he discussed the details of the day’s session. “Okay, now get in pairs and we’ll practice some basic passes first before moving on, yeah?”

The kids screamed an enthusiastic ‘yes’ in response and scrambled to find a partner. Tobio looked around for someone to partner with when he felt a tug on his shirt. “Tobio-kun!”

Tobio turned to face the smiling orange pomeranian that stood before him. “Partner with me?”

Tobio wasn’t too picky, and he was the only person he knew in this session, so he nodded in response. The two walked to an open space and began passing to each other. Shouyou wasn’t very good at receiving his Tobio’s passes, almost half of his passes bounced off Shouyou’s hands and rolled to the floor. Tobio was starting to feel slightly annoyed.

“You know, if you want to be the best spiker in Japan, you need to have your basics down,” Tobio said, his tone flat.

“I know,” Shouyou huffed, throwing the ball for another pass. “I’m practicing.”

“Not enough, it seems,” Tobio commented as he passed the ball back to Shouyou. It bounced off his hands again and on to the floor.

“Well, that’s why I’m here, aren’t I?” Shouyou said, a tinge of annoyance evident in his voice.

Tobio shrugged, as he stood in position to receive his partner’s pass.

“My dad isn’t home a lot,” Shouyou said, passing the ball to Tobio. “He’s very busy with work, so I don’t get to practice with him a lot.”

“Oh,” Tobio passed the ball back to Shouyou. _Kinda like me, then_.

“But when my dad found this club, he got me to join so now I can practice even when he’s not around,” Shouyou smiled as he passed the ball back to Tobio. “Look, I got it!”

Tobio nodded as he passed it back. It bounced off Shouyou’s hands and rolled off his hands again. Tobio sighed. He walked up to Shouyou as he went to retrieve the rolling ball. “Look,” Tobio said, holding the slightly shorter boy’s shoulders. “You have to bend your knees lower,” he pushed Shouyou lower, getting him to bend his knees and stand lower. “And your hands,” Tobio grabbed Shouyou’s hands and positioned them. “Like this.” Tobio stood in position. “See, like me.”

“Oh, okay!” Shouyou’s eyes went wide as he watched Tobio.

“You have to be behind the ball, and stay low so you can dig under it,” Tobio said as he watched Shouyou adjust his positioning. “You get it?”

Shouyou nodded. He stood in position, keeping a close eye on Tobio to see if he was standing right. “Oh, okay, I get it! Pass me another one!”

Tobio nodded as he walked back to his position and passed it to a determined and well-positioned Shouyou. With his new position, he passed the ball back to Tobio and they had a little passing relay going for a while. Shouyou beamed the whole time, his eyes sparkling, as if he had been shown a whole new world. Tobio smiled. _That’s right, I taught him that._

“Look how well we’re doing!” Shouyou said excitedly. Maybe a little too excited, as he stood up and missed Tobio’s pass. “Argh, sorry!”

“Shouyou, focus,” Tobio sighed. But deep inside, he was happy. His grandfather taught him all he knew, and he was happy they his grandfather’s teachings was helping someone else. Sure, he didn’t have his father to ruffle his hair, or tell him he could be the best setter in Japan, but he had his grandfather who still loved and taught him things, and he couldn’t ask for more.

The head coach came over, praised Tobio for his passes, ‘expecting no less from Kageyama’s grandson’, and corrected Shouyou a little more on his receives. “You seem to be working well together, so keep it up!” The head coach flashed them a thumbs up and walked away to help out another pair.

“Your grandpa must be really good at volleyball,” Shouyou commented as they continued passing.

Tobio nodded, feeling his chest swell with pride. He loved talking about his grandfather. After all, he taught him everything he knew about volleyball. “He is. He’s the reason I got into it, the reason I want to keep playing, and the reason I want to be the best.”

Shouyou’s marvelled at Tobio’s reply, his brown eyes wide as saucers. _He’s like a puppy_ , Tobio thought. _He gets excited about everything._

“What about you?” Tobio asked. He figured it’d be rude if he didn’t make an effort to ask questions. He didn’t want to sound like he wanted every conversation he had to be about him. “Why do you want to play volleyball?”

“Kinda like you,” Shouyou said, standing up once more and missing the receive. He bent down to pick it up and passed it back to Tobio. “My dad used to play it when he was younger, so I thought if I picked it up, maybe he’d stay around at home longer and play with me.” Shouyou shrugged as he stood in position to receive.

“Did it work?”

“For a bit,” Shouyou said, sadness seeping into his words. “But work still came first for him.”

Tobio nodded. He knew how he felt. His parents were barely around at home either, which is why he spent most of his time with his grandfather. But he wouldn’t change it; after all, if his grandfather hadn’t been around for all his childhood, who else would’ve taught him volleyball?

“Tobio-kun, why do you want to be a setter?” Shouyou asked, as he passed the ball to Tobio.

“I get to touch the ball the most,” Tobio replied as he passed the ball back to Shouyou. “Plus, a setter’s job to get the ball to their players is important, and I want to be able to put the perfect ball up for my teammates.”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Shouyou nodded as he bent down low and passed the ball back. The two were going pretty steady now in their passes. “I’m getting better at this, right?”

Tobio nodded. “Much better.”

Shouyou beamed. When he did that, it reminded Tobio of the sun.

“What about you? Why do you want to be a spiker?” Tobio asked. He looked at Shouyou, who was a little shorter than himself. “You’re quite short, and most spikers have to block the ball too, so wouldn’t you be better off as a libero?”

Shouyou stood up as the ball was passed to him. It him in the chest and fell to the floor. “I’m not that much shorter than you!” Shouyou exclaimed, rubbing his chest. He walked up to Tobio and measured himself against the confused raven-haired boy. “See, I’m only this much shorter than you,” he showed the short distance between his thumb and index finger.

“Yeah, but I’ll probably grow to be taller than you if I’m taller than you right now,” Tobio said, suddenly looming over the little pomeranian.

“Yeah, well, I can fly!” Shouyou crossed his arms and frowned.

“Fly?” Tobio asked, puzzled. “What are you, a bird?”

“I can jump really high!” Shouyou exclaimed, jumping to prove his point. “And it’s like I _can_ fly.

“Seems like a standard jump,” Tobio said, bored.

“Fine,” Shouyou walked away to pick up the ball. He pushed it into Tobio’s arms. “Set for me.”

“What?”

“Set. For. Me.” Shouyou punctuated each word as he walked away from Tobio and waited.

Tobio was about to argue, but holding the ball in his hand, and having someone ready to receive his sets set off something in his body. He managed to practice setting with his grandfather, but never with the intent that someone would hit them, it was just for him to get the hang of setting the ball to someone. But now, before him, stood this eager, wide-eyed, bright hair boy, who had pushed the ball into his hands and asked him to set for him. It was the first time he could set a ball for someone. How could he say no?

Tobio smirked. “It’d be a shame if you let this go to waste, you know.”

“Well, it’d be even more of a shame if you were all talk and no show,” Shouyou retorted, slowly grinning.

Tobio stared at his toothy grin and shook his head. “What, did you hit your face with the ball and lose some teeth?” He teased.

“They were baby teeth, you meanie!” Shouyou shouted, stomping his little feet. “You haven’t even lost them, so you’re the bigger baby here!”

“These,” Tobio said as he ran his tongue across his teeth. “Are all adult teeth.” That was a lie, he still had a few more teeth to lose, but he wasn’t about to admit that to this fuzzy orange dust bunny. He took a deep breath, just like his grandfather thought him, threw the ball up and as it fell, he set it in Shouyou’s direction. _You can fly, huh? Well, let’s test that out._

He knew he was cruel for giving him a high ball, but he wanted to see this flying action for himself. “Might be a little high, but you did say you could—” Tobio was cut short as he watched Shouyou take a running start in the direction that the ball was set to and take a giant leap at the ball. It wasn’t that he had jumped higher than Tobio thought he would; it was as if time stood still and Shouyou was just hanging in the air. With a mighty swing of his arm, Shouyou sent the ball flying, a loud _thwack_ sound was heard as the ball made contact with the wall.

The whole gymnasium seemed to come to a standstill, as everyone stopped what they were doing and stared in the direction of the two young aspiring national team volleyball players. While Tobio was aware that all eyes were on him, making him feel a little self-conscious and also guilty for having stopped practice and cause a possible commotion, Shouyou was too excited to care. “Did you see that?” he shouted excitedly, running up to Tobio, thrusting his hand in his face. “Look at my hand! Look at it, it’s all red from hitting it! And that ball you put up for me, it was so perfect! It was a perfect hit! And on my first try! Did you see how high I jumped? I told you I could fly!”

Shouyou was buzzing with excitement, and it wasn’t long before Tobio caught his buzz and starting shaking with adrenaline too. It was the first time he set the ball up for someone and it worked so well! Someone spiked his ball! Someone said his set was perfect! He was going to be the greatest setter—

“Well, well, don’t we have some eager learners with us today,” the head coach walked over to them. He had his arms crossed against his chest as he looked from Shouyou to Tobio. All the excitement died down as the two boys hung their heads in shame for having disrupted the class. The head coach sighed and smiled. He bent down and put an arm or either of their shoulders. “That was pretty impressive, I gotta say,” he said, giving their shoulders a pat. “How about this? You guys get your basics down first, then we’ll have a game and you guys can do that little set of your again.”

“Really?” Shouyou’s eyes sparkled. “We can do it again?”

“Basics first, Shouyou-kun,” the head coach replied. “You’ve got to get your basics down to a T. Get Tobio here to help you out with it. You’ll help him, right Tobio-kun?”

Tobio looked at Shouyou. He wanted to toss him another ball. He wanted to see him fly again.

“Yes, I’ll help him.”

“There we go!” The head coach stood up and smiled. “You know what? I can sense some good team work out of you two. I think if you both keep it up and push each other, you guys can definitely make it big.”

“Like national level big?” Tobio asked, eyes going wide.

“National level, international level, you name it!” The head coach beamed. “But remember, basics first.” And with that, he left the two and encouraged the rest to get back to their basics. Shouyou was still looking at his hand. The redness was slowly starting to fade, but the fire and passion behind his eyes shone brightly as ever. Tobio knew the feeling too, and was not ready to let that fire go out just yet. He walked up to Shouyou, wearing his most determined face.

“You and me, we’re going to the top.”

“The top?” Shouyou asked, confused.

“Yes,” Tobio nodded. “You want to be the best spiker, right?”

“Right!” Shouyou said excitedly. “The best in Japan!”

“Good, because I want to be the best setter in Japan,” Tobio said, determined now more than ever. “If we work together, we can be the best duo in Japan, and maybe play for the national team.”

“The national team?” Shouyou could hardly believe what he was hearing.

“Yes,” Tobio raised his fist to Shouyou. “So, you and I, we’re going to be the best volleyball duo in Japan, right?”

Shouyou stared at Tobio’s hand, extended right in front of him. No one’s ever reached out to him and asked him to come along on a journey towards greatness. Granted, he was only 9 years old, and what 9-year-old would suddenly want to embark on a path to become the best anything in Japan? All 9 years old wanted to do was play with their friends. But this boy in front of him, this boy he had just met, saw something in him, something worth noting, and wanted to take him along for the ride towards becoming the best volleyball players in Japan. This mean he was going to have someone who would always set a ball for him, which meant more opportunities to practice and perfect his spikes and even possible combo moves. Plus, for a 9-year-old, to have someone include you in their plans was always the best feeling in the world.

So what reason did he have to say no?

“Does this make us friends, Tobio-kun?” Shouyou asked.

Tobio stared at Shouyou. _Friends?_

“Yeah, I suppose this does, Shouyou,” Tobio said with a smile. _My first partner and friend._

Shouyou raised his fist and knocked Tobio’s, the look of determination in his face matching Tobio’s. “Then yes, the best volleyball duo in Japan. We’re going straight to the top!”

**Author's Note:**

> aaaa yay finally another story!!! this was my entry for #kagehinaweek20 [day 1 - first meeting]  
> so this was originally going to be a picture post but i was really annoyed and frustrated with my art and ended up taking out my frustration on my laptop and three hours later i birthed this hoho  
> also since we don't know what shouyou's dad's name is, i just gave him the name youta (it means sun/sunlight in japanese) so ye :D  
> anyways aaaaa okay i hope you guys liked it!!! again, totally open to comments or words of advice of any kind!!!


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